The one where the Chertsey Ladies played with insulating materials

Earlier in the week I created some samples for today's lesson: pot holders and a water bottle cozy.  I also made a microwavable fabric soup bowl  (it does make sense really!) from this tutorial, thank you Kathy.

Two ladies decided to make oven gloves, and the others went for Kathy's fabric bowl.  I didn't get any 'this-is-what-we-made' photos as we got slightly sidetracked by an unusual version of Show & Tell . . . which was started by a discussion on mastectomies!  (No further details are appropriate, but thank you S for your really positive contribution!)

Anyway, I can offer a pic of us all hard at work! (well my 'work' is teaching and therefore talking - the others *are* creating!)

And I can tell you that this fabric donated by my lovey Uncle Trygve and his wife Hilde was VARY popular

 I loved it too - thank you both for ALL the fabrics xx

Plenty of Pins

Thanks to all who commented on the plan to match the back and the front of the hexi table runner, and especially to Katy and Hadley who instructed me to pin, pin and pin through all the layers.

I finished slip stitching the hexies to the grey side, and then set to matching back and front.  The first time I did the pinning I forgot to add the wadding first - a few, um, *choice* words were used!  Then I took it apart and repinned

I think I matched all the points

I just hope it matches as well when I have finished sewing!  If not, plan B involves the quilting being random hexagons on the plain fabric

Hooked on Hexies

I made 6 hexi flowers quite a while ago,

 

from fabric left over from a few table runners I made for my uncle and his wife a few years ago. 

I planned to make the hexi flowers into another table runner for them which I could deliver in person as we'll see them when we go to Norway next month

My vague though was that this could be a hand sewing project on the holiday, ready for seeing them at the end, but then plans changed, and we are seeing them on our first day. (Did I tell you I was going to Norway?  To the Arctic Circle?)

Ooops, I'd better get one with it then

The plan is to have a reversible runner, *hopefully* with the hexi flowers so perfectly lined up that the quilting will each both sides - don't hold your breath, but this is progress so far: 1.5 flowers stitched to the solid kona fabric

A bit calmer now

That lovely man managed to fix my Big Brother, so all 4 essential sacks got done today, (three collected today, one to be collected next week) and I got Trygve's second table runner photographed.
















For the first time I have used some surplus blocks in the backing, and I have hand quilted some of the 'squares'
















I got it packaged, (together with some felt stars Trygve and Hilde wanted), and got Charlie's quilt packaged too ready to post them both ... trouble was the snow was too deep to risk a journey to the post office!

Lisa and I did some serious clearing in her room, and have a huge bag of stuff to go to the charity shop, and I managed, at last, to do some blocks for the Block Lotto, and do a bit of much needed tidying up in the sewing room

One Down ...

...one to go

The first of Uncle Trygve's table runners has been
(drum roll please)
finished!


Phew! I'm really pleased with it, and although the colours are not ones I would have chosen, I have fallen in love with them (so if he doesn't like it, no problem, I'll have it back!!!)















I haven't progressed far enough out of my comfort zone to have actually quilted it (other than my version of In The Ditch As You Go) but I followed Sandie's Binding lesson on Stash Manicure and L O V E it - the binding is darn close to perfect, and I even managed mitered corners!
















3 meters of hand sewing is a bit boring, but I actually watched some TV today while I did the binding, and it does give a much nicer finish than machining.

Now off to finish the Stack and Slash in the same fabrics (or is it a Stack and Whack?) If you know, feel free to remind me of the differences!

Busy week

A few days ago I had a lovely play date with Plum, Avril and Lesley (does Lesley have a blog). As well as a great chat and a scrummy lunch, plum provided us with scraps from her Meg's Flower tree quilt (which is even more amazing in real life)

We had a great time snipping, placing and ironing scraps onto postcard sized white fabric.
















Thank you Plum!

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I haven't done much making in the last few days - except making a mess.

Yesterday we put the tree up:




















This involved 4 big storage crates coming down from the loft- let's put them in the sitting room. At 7:30 last night Lisa and I decided to go to Ikea to get her a new bed - let's put the stuff from my car into the sitting room to make space to bring the bed home.

Then Scott (nephew #1) needed a left to the airport - let's put all the Ikea shopping in the sitting room to make room in the car. So this afternoon's plan was to start picking up and putting away.

But then we decided to take out Lisa's old bed, hum that left a blank wall, and there is a roller still wet with white paint, lets paint that wall. Well as we've done that we could just strip and paint the next wall ... (did I mention Lisa's room is also my cutting, pinning and ironing room?)















.....

Deep breath. Anyway, the tree is up and looking lovely, and the mantle piece has it's usual slightly eclectic nativity scene and winter snow & trees scene.































The advent calendar is up for Niki, and the alternative advent calendar has gone with Lisa to uni (and she has promised a photo)





















And yesterday two ornaments came winging their way from USA and Canada as part of the swap: thank you Peggy and Paula - I love them















Also up is this hanging that Jackie made for me last year (it's actually been hanging in the sewing room all year, but now has gone to the sitting room)




















And finally I have now planned, and shopped for, the Log cabin Candle tree, and the raw edge applique table runner has been re-planned as a wall hanging, and once I get some time I will finish the two table runners for Norway, the four sacks, and then I can get on with my hangings!

My Special Boy's Quilt (finished - yippee)

Back in August (!) I started a quilt for the autistic boy that we childminded. (Blogged about here) Things were up in the air for R: mum wasn't able to keep him, and Dad was living in a different borough who didn't have a school place for him, and the foster parents thought he was going, so accepted a new child ... so my boy has been boarding at school all week, and with dad at weekends, while we waited for dad to move back to this borough so he could stay at his special school (following all this?)

Anyway, this quilt was meant to be a goodbye quilt, but he might be coming back to us, so I decided it needed to become a Christmas present, which meant it needed to be finished!





























"Spiral Learning" is a memory boosting technique which is really good for children like R: asking questions and talking about what has happened helps various connection in the brain, so this quilt is all about memories: it includes a motorway sign, the family pets, our names, and favorite activities (counting planes, feeding donkeys, riding a tricycle, spotting bridges, listening to the washing machine etc)

I hope he likes it when we get it to him.

Yesterday we drove to Portsmouth to see my mum: Brian drove and I sewed, and got 80 4 inch squares stitched together in pairs for Trygve's table runner. Today they got ironed (and photographed), so I can get on with them tonight.

















I also got a photo of some of the stack and slash blocks

Working on the to-do-list (and getting distracted)

One of the items on the to-do list is a table runner for my uncle, Trygve, and his wife. They brought me the fabric when they visited in the summer, and as Christmas was ages away I put it to one side. Now, of course, Christmas isn't ages away, so I've had to get moving!

The fabric looked luscious in the stack from the fabric shop (but i forgot to take a photo) and looked pretty yummy after I'd cut it too

















I'm making a stack and slash for a coffee table, and a table runner too.

Photos to follow

Meanwhile, I had bookmarked this fab little bag from Ayumills at Pink Penguin. She has given some great instructions, but I confess I simplified it a bit to make this zebra stripe bag.















It's a cute little bag anyway, but also has a cover: she describes it as a lunch bag, but I think it'll be great for bathroom stuff on an over night stay, or for taking hand sewing in the car, or for all sorts of treasures that need to go from A to B. I think a bigger version will make a great handbag too















So having made one ... I simplified the instructions further to make this Christmassy version for my BQL Secret Santa swap, and I have another 7 started on a production line!
















Finally, I wanted to show you the postcards I received form Lisa this week: all hand embellished (she has the old sewing machine at Uni with her, but is worried that if she gets it out she may never get back to the essays she is supposed to write!)

Aren't they lovely